In our day many Christians’ decry the inroads of evolution. Many reasons are suggested, but one reason that is rarely put forth is the setting aside of the “Seventh-day Sabbath,” the special day designated to honor God as the creator (Ex. 20:8). Do we honor God as creator when we keep the Sabbath on Sunday instead of Saturday? It seems inexplicable to me that the one commandment that was set in time so that it could not be changed, and had the word remember appended to it, is the one commandment that has been either forgotten, is barely kept, or kept on another day. Remember the Sabbath was never meant to honor Jesus; it was establish to honor God and forever remind earth’s inhabitants of His role as the creator!

Notice what Henry Law said on the Sabbath predating the Jewish rituals: “Leviticus enacts a train of rites. But their immediate purpose is brief and transient. Their life is short. They ﬁnd an early grave. And now they teach, as records of a by-gone time as text-books of the Church’s youth. There is, however, a grand exception. In this code the Sabbath holds conspicuous place. But Gospel-beams have not obscured its light. It is no star, which waned before the orb of day. Far otherwise. It arose not a ceremony among ceremonies. Sinai was not its birthplace. The wilderness was not its cradle. Therefore Calvary is not its tomb. Reader, write this among undoubted truths. The Sabbath is as old as man. Adam’s ﬁrst day was hallowed rest. The thought may here occur, why was Creation a six-days’ work? Omnipotence requires no time. To will to do are one with God. Why was a gradual program used? The reply is, God is wise love. Step succeeds step in forming worlds to sanctify our patient toil. God then announces, that He rests, to sanctify required rest. Thus with high sanction, and benevolent intent, the Sabbath entered Eden by man’s side. In its origin, it stands the ﬁrstborn of all ordinances. It is a portion of primeval law. Its date precedes the date of sin. Away with the vain thought, that it is a short-lived ﬂower of ritual ﬁeld.”

Ex. 20:10; Lev. 23:3; Deut. 5:14. It is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.

Ex. 31:15. The Sabbath of rest.

Ex. 16:23. The rest of the holy Sabbath.

Isa. 58:13. It is God’s holy day.

Rev. 1:10. It is the Lord’s day.

Gen. 2:2, 3. It is the rest day of the Lord.

Ex. 34:21. A rush of work is no excuse for breaking the Sabbath.

Amos 8:5. Sabbath-breaking is classed with false balances and short measures.

Neh. 13:22. Saints observe the Sabbath.

Ps. 118:24; 58:13. Saints rejoice in the Sabbath.

Neh. 13:15, 20, 21. Testify against those who desecrate the Sabbath.

Isa. 58:13, 14. There is a blessedness in honoring it.

Isa. 56:2-6. There is a blessing in keeping the Sabbath.

Isa. 66:22, 23. The Sabbath will be kept throughout eternity.

Sabbath-Breaking in the Bible

Lam. 1:7. The wicked mock at the Sabbath.

Isa. 56:2. They pollute it.

Neh. 13:17. They profane it.

Amos 8:5-7. The wicked weary of the Sabbath.

Eze 22:26. They hide their eyes from the Sabbath.

Neh. 13:15. They also bear burdens upon the Sabbath.

Neh. 10:31. The wicked trafﬁc on the Sabbath.

Luke 13:14; John 9:16. Sometimes they pretend to be zealous for it.

Texts on keeping the first day of the week.

There are nine references in the Bible to the first day of the week, as follows: Gen. 1:5; Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1, 2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1; 20:19; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2. The first day of the week was named by Jehovah 6,000 years ago. The six inspired writers that mention it, call it by the same name: the first day of the week. None allude to it as the holy rest day, while three of them state it came the day after the Sabbath, showing that they did not regard it as the Sabbath. It is classed among the working days. Eze. 46:1. Paul bore the following testimony 32 years this side of the cross: “I have committed nothing against the people or customs of our fathers.” Acts 28:17. If he had kept any other Sabbath than the Seventh-day Sabbath, he would have departed from the customs of his fathers.

Learn More...

Discover the history of the seventh-day Sabbath narrated by Hal Holbrouke at Seventh-day tv.

Reviewing...
1. What day did God set aside as His memorial of creation?
2. Why did God set aside the seventh-day as His memorial?
3. Was God being arbitrary when he made such a big deal about Sabbath keeping in the OT if it was going to be changed later?
4. According to Ex. 31:13 what is the Sabbath a sign of?
5. What day did Jesus keep when he was on the earth?
6. How was the Sabbath kept in the Bible?
7. How should the Sabbath be kept in our day?
8. Note this chapter on Teaching Children to Joyfully Observe the Sabbath
9. What blessings are promised to those who keep the Sabbath?
10. Do any of the nine texts that mention Sunday command Sabbath-keeping?

Your Decision...
1. How would your life change if you were to start keeping the Sabbath? How would it affect your relationships? How would it affect your work? Do you trust God enough to make those changes?